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Bedding Down

10

With the festive holidays coming up, some of us here at Stylist are very much looking forward to spending the whole week in bed. It's well-deserved, we assure you! And how important a comfy place to lay your head is - the Sleep Council say that replacing an uncomfotable bed for a comfy new one can lead to an extra 42 minutes of sleep.

If that sounds appealing, then be sure to enter our 12 days of Christmas giveaway on Boxing Day, when we've got a luxurious Warren Evans bed and matress to giveaway.

Until then, here's a selection of iconic beds from art, film, history and literature to get you in the mood to doze...

Van Gogh was so fond of his bedroom at the Yellow House in Arles, France that he painted it three times. These iconic images are some of the artist’s best known paintings. The striking colours, unusual perspective and familiar wooden chair (which is another one of his iconic paintings – Van Gogh’s Chair) gave us an insight into his life.

An iconic bed scene on film that will make you wince. When obsessed Annie (Kathy Bates) decides to make sure that her favourite author (James Caan) doesn’t run away from her captivity, she decides to break his ankles in a very graphic scene. She places a thick block of wood between his ankles, then takes a huge sledge hammer and blasts both feet separately, which are visibly bent the wrong way – it’ll send a shiver down your spine.

During the Vietnam War in 1969 John Lennon and Yoko Ono famously held two week-long bed-ins for peace at the Amsterdam Hilton and the Fairmont Hotel in Montreal as their non-violent protest promoting peace. They attracted huge attention and invited the world’s press into their room every day between 9am to 9pm. In Montreal John famously composed Give Peace a Chance and converted the suite into a recording studio.

This classic Disney children’s film brought a bed to life. Set during WWII, three children from London are sent to the country to live with a witch. She puts a travelling spell on a bedknob and they all go on an adventure together, including a memorable under the sea scene. Who knew you could have so much fun on a bed…

This controversial, contemporary piece of art from one of our coolest artists, Tracey Emin, was a talking point the world over when it was exhibited at Tate Britain. Cluttered with condoms, knickers and cigarettes, it displayed the messy aftermath of Emin’s nervous breakdown caused by relationship problems. It was also shortlisted for the Turner Prize.

Austin tries to convince a woman of his “shagadelicness” on a cheesy rotating bed whilst The Look of Love is playing. This scene is actually a parody of a scene in 1966’s Casino Royale. It never fails…

This remarkable Australian artist created a huge bed with a giant woman in it resting under a massive duvet. Mueck is famous for creating scarily life like sculptures of people of all ages, colours and different sizes from tinnie tiny, normal size or gargantuan. The women featured in his In Bed looks troubled and anxious, as though she could do with a good night's sleep. We can empathise...

A great example of why, when you pick up your phone, you should only ever say hello: Bridget (Renée Zellweger) is in bed with Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) when she answers her phone saying “Bridget Jones, wanton sex goddess, with very bad man between her thighs… Mum… Hi.” Classic.

We all longed for Carrie’s single girl apartment in Sex in the City. Her bed with its enviable bedding was its centrepiece; it’s where she wrote, talked on the phone and got amorous with Big, Aiden and co.

In Roald Dahl’s classic book Charlie’s four grandparents are bedridden in one big bed, but Grandpa Joe manages to find the energy to get up when he hears that he has to accompany Charlie to Willy Wonka’s factory. Well, the promise of chocolate will do that to a person.